Fence-post.



H. F. ABBOTT. FENCE POST. APPLICATION FILED DBO. 15, 1910.

1,01 3,578. Patented Jan. 2, 1912.

HARRY F. ABBOTT, or JAcKsoN, iviici-irGAiv.

FENCE-POST.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patenten Jan. 2,1912.

Application filed December m15, 1910. Serial No. 597,432.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY F. ABBOTT, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Jackson, in the county of Jackson and State of Michigan, have invented a new and useful Fence-Post, of which the followingA is a specification.

This invention relates to reinforced concrete fence posts, and its object is to provide a post which shall have maximum strength for weight, which shall be particularly adapted to preventthe line wires from sliding down, which can be manufactured by the wet process at low labor cost because of the peculiar self-centering reinforcement, and which shall be so formed as to have great holding strength when in position.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is an elevation of the finished post. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the same showing the reinforcement. Fig. 3 is an elevation of a closed mold for the post. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a cross section on the line 5 5 of Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is an elevation of a locking device. Fig. 7 is a view of an upper end and Fig. 8 of the lower end of one form of reinforcement. Figs. 9 and 10 are similar ends of another form of reinforcement.

Similar reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views.

Experience has shown that tapering articles of concrete should be molded largeend down, so that the quick shrinkage at the instant the cement begins to set, will not be resisted by gravity, resulting in a porous article. Experience has also shown that far better results are attained by molding the concrete wet, that is, mixed with all the water necessary for the crystallization of the cement, than by using the dry process, where merely suthcient water is used to hold the cement and aggregate together, the remainder being supplied later on when the mold has been removed. Experience has further shown that when a post is molded by the Wet process, large-end down, the molds may be removed after from twenty-four to forty-eight hours without injuring the posts; provided, the posts are not disturbed during such removal ofthe molds.

The apparatus for taking advantage of the experience given above consists of a mold, formed of two tapering bodies 3 having enlarged'lower ends 4. The adjacent edges are bent outward to form the ianges 5, and if desired, indentations may be formed in the inner faces of the mold. To hold the mold-halves together the rings 6, of any desired number, three preferred, may be employed. Each ring is preferably formed with shoes 7 having grooves 8 to receive the flanges 5 on the molds, and notches midway between the shoes.

In the usual manner of reinforcing concrete posts, Aformed by the wet process, the reinforcements must be held in position until the concrete has been filled in, a matter of time and labor. The reinforcing member 9, shown in Figs. 2, 5, 7 and 8, is preferably cross-shaped in cross section and the ends are slitted leaving central portions 10 and 11, from which the arms 12 and 13 extend outward. The lower portion 10 may be cut oif or may extend into a hole in a board or plate 14, closing the bottom of the mold. Solid earth renders this board unnecessary. These arms 12 and 13 i1nmediately center the bar 9, no other device being necessary to hold it in posit-ion. When the bar 9 is in position, the second half of the mold is placed against the first and the locking rings 6 are slipped onto the mold, which being tapering, will be securely locked. The number of these rings will depend upon the size of mold and length of the post, three being a convenient number. The concrete is then poured into the mold. After about twenty-four hours, or longer if necessary until the concrete has set, the rings 6 are carefully slipped up off the mold and the two halves of the mold are removed from the finished post 1, which stands on its base 2. The molds adhere to the concrete, but by pushing a thin wedge between the flanges 5, especially if the interior of the mold has been thinly coated with oil before the concrete is introduced, the mold may be removed without injuring the post, which is permitted to remain where it was molded until it has thoroughly hardened. This avoids all the hair-cracks which occur in posts made by the dry process and which are caused by rolling them out of the mold immediately after being tamped.

The molds may be formed with depressions 16 in their inner faces which result in the forming of projections 17 on the posts. These projections are valuable for the purpose of preventing the wires, by means of which the fence-strands are secured to the posts, from slipping down, or up. Instead of a four-winged reinforcing bar, any other desirable self-centering device may be employed. In Figs. 9 and l0, a three-winged bar is shown, sheared in the same manner as the bar 9, and having the arms 2O and 2l extending outward from the central portions 22 and 23. IVith this bar asv with bar 9, all trouble and time usually necessary to position the reinforcing member are saved and the base 2 of the post is at the same time given a satisfactory reinforcement. The expanded base 2 of the post holds the post so firmly in t-he ground that less length in the ground is necessary than is usually the case.

Having now explained my construction, what I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is LA reinforced post comprising a tapering concrete body and an enlarged base,

and a central longitudinally-extending reinforcing member having a cross-shaped embedded therein, comprising a plurality of narrow plates joining at a common line throughout their length, both ends of each plate bent outward so as to contactwith the surface of the mold, and thereby center the reinforcement when the post is molded.

In. testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HARRY F. ABBOTT. Witnesses:

L. A. FERGUSON, IV. L. DE LAND.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

